What to look for when booking a gig?

[danny_g]

Charging-Sometimes it isn't your choice as to what you get paid.
I personally believe the type of show I put on is worth $250 a show for a four hour gig. I break it down this way- $25 for setup- $50 an hour for the time I start to the time I end. Anohter $25 for providing a dance set at the start of hour number 3. Considering the Quality in SOund, My pickiness of what I will have on my system- not a lot of Hip-Hop- just the standard ones available on Pioneer, Kjtools and the like, and the fact tht I will let anyone sing- Proving they don't break a cardinal rule of which I actully have very few of. One is you don't stick mikes down your pants which is a guaranteed you're out the door now at my shows. The other is you wait your turn to sing and wait 5 to 6 songs in to ask "When am I up next" or "Am I next" when you just sang 2 songs ago. I use to have a policy at one show that if you ask me after each song for five songs in a row I would move the slip to the back of the rotation. If you asked me a sixth time it went in the circular file. I no longer use that rule.
Needless to say it is impossible to get that kind of money where I am for a BAr gig. I have a better chance at a private gig so I reserve that pricing for those gigs. The best I've gotten for a gig in a bar is $150 so far. I guess it's not bad to be able to charge half my private rate to the bar than not have a steady weekly gig at all. I'd love to do just Private stuff but that doesn't put bread on the table- the weekly bar gigs do.
As for gigs at this point since bar gigs are hard to come by- I can't afford to be picky as to what type of bar I'm in. Right now I am doing what Lorraine would call a pub on Friday nights. A week from tomorrow I will add a second night.